Sequel: Released into the Air
Status: Finished

Submerged in Water

Escape

"Rune is my cousin!?" I screached.

I turned to look at Rune. He was even more dazed and confused than I was. He looked like he wanted to book it into the forest behind my house. I wish I could follow him but I couldn't leave like this.

"Maybe." Dale corrected me.

"Maybe?" I left my mouth open. "Maybe is a pretty vague word, Mr. Striker. Or should I say, Daddy?"

Robyn, Scott and Aubrey finally exited the house. Honestly, at this point, all I wanted to do was go back inside, crawl into my bed and cry my heart out.

"What is going on?" Scott asked, stepping forward. "Why are you shouting?"

For a brief second, I thought about trying to find the words to explain it but immediately gave up and looked for a means to escape. My breathing picked up as I remembered what I had been practicing out by the river a few days ago but had given up on due to the fact I couldn't form any ice. Well, I felt like I could do it now. I could do anything now if it meant I could escape from this mess.

I searched for a water source nearby and found some in the gutters and some underneath the road where the sewers were. I pulled the water to my location, forming a platform of solid ice that remained floating and hovering in the air. It served as a vessel or a vehicle for me to escape.

I hurled myself on the top of the platform, grabbing onto a solid piece of ice that resembled a handle. The vessel seemed to tip with my weight on it and I fought to control it. I turned around to see everyone watch this happening. "I'm sorry, I just can't handle this." I sensed another water source on my face and I realized they were my tears.

Controlling the water like I usually do, I squared myself and held onto the ice platform as I raised it off the ground and into the sky. I looked down at everyone staring at me in a confused, angry daze. I felt bad for leaving just as it was getting messy but after everything that had happend, this was the last straw. I couldn't look at them. I couldn't look at Dale. And I especially couldn't look at Rune.

It hurt too damn much.

I shot off into the forest and headed towards the cove. I wanted to pick up my spear and head somewhere for the weekend where I could be alone with my thoughts and just... relax.

"Emele!" I heard yelling underneath me. It sounded like Jonathan.

I stopped, rounding myself off because the platform was wobbly from the weight of my body and peered over the edge of the ice.

I knew Jonathan could be a bit of a show off and weird sometimes but this had to be the most extravagant thing he has ever done.

He was below me, riding on the back of a tiger that was as large as an elephant. For a second I thought I might've been dreaming, as I could only see a hazy image of it through the forest trees but when he got closer, I knew it was for real. He was catching up to me but he still couldn't come into the air where I was floating. I was thankful for that.

I take that back.

He seemed to gain speed and just as I finally understood what was happening. He got launched off the back of the tiger and landed squarly on the small water platform I had created. The motion looked so eloquent, it was hard to believe he hadn't rehearsed it many times over before doing it. He grabbed on to my waist from behind me and said, "kind of cold up here."

I laughed. I was glad for the comic relief. If there was anyone I was willing to escape with, it was Jonathan. He didn't demand anything from me and he always seemed to be good company. Good advice and a good attitude about life. He was exactly what I needed right now.

I went with my original plan still to pick up my spear at the cove. It only took a few minutes before I got there and I jumped off to grab it quickly before coming back on. Jonathan assumed his position behind me again. We didn't say anything to each other but he knew what I was doing.

I headed towards the ocean, I wasn't sure what I was going to find out there, but I was hoping that I might find something that was different than what I was experiencing here. I'd create my own ice land in the middle of the ocean if I had to.

It was hard clutching the heavy spear in one hand and holding onto the ice with the other. I had to switch hands a few times. Finally, growing tired of my resistance to ask for help, Jonathan just grabbed it and held on to it for me.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"Don't mention it. I can play pack mule."

I turned around to smile weakly at him and continued until I reached the beach that bordered the ocean. It was hard to believe that I had never been to the ocean before. It was only an hour drive away from my home but I had managed to reach it from the cove in about twenty minutes. I always wondered why I never came here. After all, I wasn't meant to live in lakes and rivers. I was meant to live in the ocean.

I stopped to stare at it a few seconds and then descended down to touch it. I got close enough so that the vessel rested on top of the water and floated. I reached my hand out and felt the water. It was different then the lake and water ones, but not by much. It just felt richer to me, like a finer wine.

"You look like you've never touched the ocean before." Jonathan remarked.

"That's because I haven't."

I looked at the horizon of water that never seemed to end. The sun was coming down over it, making it come alive. It would be dark in less than an hour and I wanted to find a place that nobody could get to. A secret island somewhere. Maybe I was just being too hopeful.

I continued along the water, sticking close enough to it that I could reach out and touch it if I wanted to. I did a few times when the waves were high enough. I saw Jonathan do it too. "This is a lot better than the whale." He said.

"Probably a lot faster too."

He chuckled close to my ear. I felt his breath. It was warm. "Yeah that too."

I finally admitted defeat when the sun had set and I couldn't see much in the distance anymore. I set down the vessel in the water but the waves were stronger than I thought they'd be and we ended up getting splashed a little.

I tried forming a dome of ice around us, similar to an igloo, but it wasn't working. I frowned. This isn't good.

"What is it?" He asked me, catching my look.

"It's hard to make ice sometimes. I can control it and melt it easily, but making it requires more concentration." I sighed. "It used to be so easy and then..."

"And then?" He pressed.

Rune went away. "It's not that important. Not anymore."